Ducks left wing Nick Ritchie (37), right, celebrates his goal in the third period during game 7 of second-round playoff series against the Oilers at Honda Center in Anaheim on Wednesday, May 10, 2017. (Photo by Kyusung Gong/SCNG)

The team that couldn’t seem to ever get it done, did. Did it at home, too. The Ducks put on a defensive clinic against the Edmonton Oilers to end a back-and-forth Western Conference semifinal series, getting a tiebreaking goal from Nick Ritchie in a 2-1 victory Wednesday night.

Ritchie scored on a quick wrist shot past Oilers goalie Cam Talbot at 3:21 of the third period and the Ducks took that decisive goal and exorcised their Game 7 demons. The hex that was four consecutive losses on the Honda Center ice was broken as an overflow crowd of 17,407 rejoiced.

Andrew Cogliano also scored a critical tying goal and John Gibson made 23 saves in a controlled performance behind a determined effort from his teammates in front of him. Oilers stars Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl were held scoreless, with Draisaitl having torched the Ducks for 13 points in the first six games.

The Ducks won their first-ever playoff series when facing an 0-2 deficit. They’re run of four straight Game 7 losses is over, with their record in them now 3-6. It is their first win in one since capturing a 2006 first-round series with a 3-0 victory at Calgary.

“We deserved to win that game,” Cogliano said. “I really feel like that. I think from the first guy to Gibby, that was one of our best games of the season in terms of how we competed.”

Ritchie’s second goal of the postseason was a massive one. An extended shift in the offensive zone – one of many by the Ducks throughout the night – ended when the winger took Sami Vatanen’s pass in the right circle and snapped a shot past Talbot on the far side.

“Definitely would be the biggest one,” Ritchie said. “A series-clinching game winner is a huge goal.”

The Ducks took it from there and now face another playoff nemesis in Nashville for the right to play for the Stanley Cup. The 2010-11 and 2015-16 seasons ended with first-round losses to the Predators.

The message for this Game 7 was laid out in simple terms by Ducks coach Randy Carlyle.

“Good start,” Carlyle said, repeating the words twice more. “Have a good start. That’s the bottom line. You have to have a starting point. Your team can’t be second out of the blocks.

“It’s like a sprint. If you’re a sprinter, you want to make sure you get a good start. And that’s exactly the way we approach it. We have to have a good start. It’s imperative that we get our game going right off the bat.”

The early results flew in the face of that. Shea Theodore kept his spot in the lineup with Kevin Bieksa still ailing from a lower-body injury but the young Ducks defenseman made a ghastly decision to skate out with the puck right in front of the goal crease.

Drake Caggiula went hard to the net and pressured Theodore into losing the puck and it got through a surprised Gibson for a shocking goal credited to the Oilers rookie. And it meant that the Ducks again had to erase a Game 7 deficit.

This one came just 3:31 into the game. The other four Game 7 losses had a similar refrain, with the Ducks trailing just 1:49 into their 2013 defeat against Detroit. It was 4:30 in when the Kings’ struck in 2014. Chicago had a lead only 2:23 in. Nashville took the longest in waiting until 6:19 elapsed.

The difference on Wednesday was the Ducks did not collapse under the bad play from Theodore, who also gathered himself after that inglorious moment. Shot attempts weren’t making their way through the Oilers to Talbot but time in the offensive zone was steadily being gained.

After leaving the first with the one-goal deficit, the Ducks turned up their cycle game in the second. And with Edmonton largely reduced to getting the puck out of it zone just to make line changes, it became time to take advantage.

On a possession extended by Brandon Montour taking a shot toward the goal, Kesler chased down the loose and kept the play going long enough for Talbot to lose his position and Cogliano to head to the net.

As the goalie lay sprawled on his stomach with his back to the play, Cogliano pushed the puck over the red line. A loud yell by the speedy forward accompanied his first goal of the playoffs and it pulled the Ducks into a 1-1 tie at the 8:55 mark.

“In the second period, you got to try to out-change guys and get guys off the ice and new guys on the ice,” Cogliano said. “Kaser (Ondrej Kase) did a great job of creating some momentum. We got the puck to the net and we had Kes there. I just came and cleaned up the garbage.

“Those are the goals you need to score. It was about time I got one.”

The rest of the second stayed in possession of the Ducks, who had an overwhelming 16-3 shot advantage but couldn’t squeeze another past Talbot. But they entered the third in the best position they’ve been in a Game 7 since 2009, where they were also tied until falling in Detroit.

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